In Vitro Effects of Propofol on Cytotoxic, Apoptotic and PI3K-Akt Signaling Pathway Genes on Brain Cancer Cells

Abstract

Aim: It was aimed to determine the cytotoxic and apoptotic effect of propofol on glioma cells.

Background: Propofol [2,6-diisopropylphenol] is a commonly used intravenous anesthetic. Propofol is known to have a mechanism of action on the PI3K-AKT pathway.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of propofol on the proliferation and apoptosis of human glioma cells, as well as to investigate changes in expression levels of the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway genes.

Materials-methods: The cytotoxic effect of propofol on the U-87 MG cell line was determined by WST-1 method. Annexin V-FITC and Mitoprobe JC-1 assay were used to measure apoptosis by flow cytometry. Expression levels of genes in the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway were investigated by qRT-PCR.

Results: We have shown that propofol-induced apoptosis in U-87 MG cells by 17.1-fold compared to untreated control. Furthermore, significant differences were found in the expression levels of the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway genes.

Conclusion: As a result of our study, it was found that propofol caused differences in expression levels of PI3K-AKT signaling pathway genes, and it was suggested that these differences might be related to apoptosis induction.